Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida on Monday declared a victory in America’s war on bigotry: A Maryland public radio station has ended a program hosted by the Nation of Islam.
The Fort Walton Beach Republican posted on X (formerly Twitter) two letters that he received noting that WEAA 88.9 FM, a public radio station managed by Morgan State University, an historically black college in Baltimore, no longer airs a program called “Final Call.”
As the Tampa Free Press has reported, the program is the official radio broadcast of the Nation of Islam, founded by Louis Farrakhan, long known for his anti-white and anti-Semitic rants.
The Free Press reported last month that Gaezt had fired off letters to Patricia de Stacy Harrison, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and John Lansing, CEO of National Public Radio, to complain about “Final Call” airing on stations that receive taxpayer funding.
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On Monday, he posted letters his office recently received from both agencies saying the broadcast was no longer part of the programming.
The NPR letter said that the outlet had not “distributed, sponsored, or endorsed that programming because it would not be considered aligned with our editorial standards.” It mentioned that WEAA specifically was no longer airing “Final Call” and had updated its scheduling.
The CPB letter noted, “Hate speech is in direct conflict with our deeply held American values. It has no place in media or in a civic society.” Accordingly, the agency asserted that it never provided funding for “Final Call.”
The letter continued that local stations licensed by the CPB determine their own content. They also review such content to ensure it “serves the interests of their diverse communities.”
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After such a review, WEAA opted to remove “Final Call” from its rotation, along with other unnamed programs. “The program is no longer available through the station,” the CPB added.
On X, Gaetz said, “GREAT NEWS! Following my letter to NPR & CPB on the use of taxpayer funds to play disgraceful Louis Farrakhan content, WEAA has decided to no longer air Farrakhan’s Final Call.”
As the Free Press reported last month, Gaetz had explained his push to get “Final Call” off the air: “Americans would be shocked to learn that black supremacy, ethnic extremism, or historical revisionism of any kind, especially of this magnitude, is being funded by their tax dollars.”
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